Ramen Soup for the Soul
by King of slackers
Summary: Sasuke's return to Village means that he and Sakura can finally be together. Unfortunately, that leaves two other people heartbroken and out of luck. Can they cheer each other up?


Um, hey. So this scene is one of those stories that just pops into your head when you're sitting quietly during a class lecture and you stop paying attention in order to write it out on a piece of paper, pretending you're taking notes. It happens to me quite often, to tell the truth. I don't know what suddenly gave me the urge to write NaruxIno, but I kinda like this pairing. Maybe you'll like it too. Maybe you won't. But please do…

I got the title cuz this girl in front of me had this Chicken Soup for the Soul book out on her desk and I was like, "sweet."

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**Ramen Soup for the Soul**

-K.o.S

-xxx-

Ino walked along the river's edge, watching her step as her feet treaded lightly on the loose rocks. The water's current was strong today, carrying the early spring rain down from the mountains. It was a nice day, not a cloud in the sky, so she figured that she'd go out for a little walk. She had some thoughts that she had to clear.

Sakura had always been a very close friend. But more than that, due to a mutual object of affection, they had also become fierce rivals. Neither of them wanted to lose to the other in anything; and when one of them did lose, there was sure to be a huge fuss.

Rivalry was a complicated relationship. In the midst of all their competition, they got to know each other inside and out, and it gave them the opportunity to truly see what they each were made of. So, as much as it pushed them away, it only made them closer. For Ino, nothing ever contradicted itself so much, yet still made perfect sense.

It was Ino's loss; the biggest loss she could have ever suffered. With Sasuke recovering in the hospital, she thought it would be a perfect chance to visit him. But Sakura was already there. She had been there since the moment he had arrived, and never left his side since then. Ino felt so out of place in the room with them. With Sasuke and Sakura there, Ino got the feeling that she was the one who didn't belong. Seeing her rival's face, so full of emotion, and Sasuke's hidden smiles at her…

That's when Ino realized that she really didn't have shot. No. More accurately, she probably never had one in the first place. Sasuke had ignored her every advance, and Sakura was the only girl that had the liberty to talk with him since they were assigned to the same team. Ino had been foolish to hope.

It was no big deal. There were other guys out there, and Ino was a very attractive young woman. Her thing with Sasuke had only been a schoolgirl crush with no significant meaning.

But, if all these things that she was telling herself were true, then why was she so upset about this? Was it simply because she had lost something that she and Sakura had been competing over for a long time? She didn't know.

Her thoughts trailed off as she spotted someone ahead of her sitting on a rock near the river. It was rare for anyone to come out this far, and Ino hadn't been expecting to see anyone; that was the whole point of her being out here. It was during her second glance at the person that she realized who it was. No other person in Konoha had hair as blonde and spiky as Naruto's. She immediately understood that he was out here for the same reason she was.

Anything that had eyes could see that Naruto was in deep for Sakura. It's not like he ever tried to hide it. And it wasn't just some grade school infatuation: it was meaningful. It was true. Ino couldn't have pictured a sadder face than the one he was wearing now, and she didn't blame him. Naruto had gone to the ends of the earth to drag Sasuke back to Konoha. And yet in regaining his best friend, he had also lost something precious. He probably knew what would happen all along if he were to finally beat some sense into Sasuke.

Poor guy. He must be having a hard time with this, as well. She planned on leaving him alone, but when she turned around to avoid him, he caught sight of her and called out.

"Oi! Ino! What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Not much, just walking around a bit…" she replied.

He frowned. Her voice had been anything but cheerful.

"Hah!" he suddenly laughed, "don't tell me you're bummed out because of Sasuke!"

"W-what!?" Ino stuttered, "who said anything about Sasuke-kun!?"

His question had certainly been unexpected, but even more surprising had been the seemingly immediate change in his mood once he saw her walking towards him.

"You don't have to say it. It's written all over your face; even the biggest idiot in the world couldn't miss it!" he smiled.

Apparently so…

"Don't just blurt out other people's feelings, stupid!" she cried.

"Why not? There's no one else here…" he said, looking around to make sure he was right.

"That's not the point…" the kunoichi sighed, figuring it wouldn't do any good to talk to Naruto about courtesy.

She sat on the nearest boulder that was large enough to support her, and he sat on the one closest to her.

"Don't worry about that guy," said Naruto, "he's no good anyway. He's really unsociable. You'd probably get bored hanging around with him."

"You forget that I hang out with Shikamaru," Ino remarked.

"Still," he spoke, using his hands in conjunction with his words, "he thinks he's so cool….what a pain in the ass!"

"Hmm…you're not describing him how a regular person would describe his best friend."

"I'm just saying, you're probably better off without him. You can do a lot better than that bastard. If it'll make you feel any better, I can go beat him up again! Just say the word!"

Was he trying to cheer her up by trash talking Sasuke? Maybe he was thinking that if he convinced her that Sasuke was no good, then her loss wouldn't seem that bad. If that's how he cheered people up, then perhaps that's how he expected to be treated, as well.

"What about you, Naruto?" she asked, reversing the roles, "Don't tell me you're out here moping over Sakura! She's just a big whiner!"

Ino half expected Naruto to valiantly come to the defense of his beloved. When he didn't, she went on.

"She's got such a huge forehead, not to mention that obnoxious pink hair! I mean, who has pink hair!? It's seriously unnatural! There are much cuter girls running around Konoha that you could chase after."

"Yeah. I guess two people like that deserve each other…" Naruto concluded sadly.

Damn. Just when he started to perk up a bit, he sank back down into his gloomy hole. Perhaps Ino had approached this the wrong way, after all.

"Really, though. If Sakura is dumb enough to let someone who is willing to go out and risk everything just for her slip through her fingers, then there's no way she's as smart as everyone gives her credit for," said Ino gently.

Naruto smiled and paused for a moment, trying to think about what he should say in response.

"Well, if Sasuke never took notice of you, then his eyes aren't at all what they're hyped up to be," he said.

For some reason, they laughed. They laughed loudly at nothing at all. However, it was short lived.

He threw a stone into the coursing river to watch the water splash.

"Nothing we can really do about it," he said finally, "this is just one of those things that you can't change no matter how hard you try."

That's right. His whole life, Naruto exceeded expectations through hard work and determination. But now, he faced something that couldn't be overcome by such things. No matter how hard you try, you can't just go and make someone fall in love with you. If anyone had tried their best for someone, it was Naruto. But he hadn't been trying to win Sakura's affections. In fact, he had probably known what would happen if he brought Sasuke back to the Village. Yet he did it anyway, all for her sake. Ino was jealous that Sakura had someone like that.

"It'll be weird for a while. I won't be able to be around her without thinking about it. Will I be able to keep joking around with her like everything is normal? I hope we can keep the same relationship."

She felt herself get angry just thinking about it. That pink-haired, forehead rival of hers knew how Naruto felt. All the things that Naruto had done for her, Sakura could at least come out here to look for him and talk about it. But no, she was still at the hospital batting her eyelashes at Sasuke. Because of that, Ino was out here doing that girl's job: cheering up a friend who was down.

Another rock flew into the river, this time thrown by Ino. If she judged her situation against Naruto's, it didn't even compare.

"Okay!" she proclaimed, jumping to her feet, "here's what we're going to- woah!"

Her sudden movements caused her to slip on some loose rocks. Into the river she plunged, face first. Taken completely by surprise, she didn't have enough time nor the right state of mind to stop herself from falling in with her chakra techniques.

She scraped her knee when she fell into the shallow water, but it didn't hurt too bad. The worst injury she had was one of embarrassment. She stood up carefully. Her hair was soaked, and her wet, purple outfit was heavy and clung to her body. She didn't hear any laughter from Naruto, so she glanced over at him in curiously.

The boy was staring at her intently, his mouth hanging slightly open. She looked herself up and down before showing a small grin.

"You're thinking something perverted, aren't you, Naruto?" she asked, mischievously suspicious.

"No!" he cried, shaking his head, "I'm not, honest!"

"Promise?" she asked with a sly grin.

She had him trapped. There was no way he could lie now; not with his whole thing about his promises and his word. Crossing her arms and giving him a foreboding stare, she waited for his answer.

"That's…I was…uhh…" he stumbled with his words and used his arms to guard his head, preparing for the worst.

But all Ino did was laugh as she reclaimed her seat next to him. One look at his confused expression only served to deepen her laughter. He was always so fun to mess with.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto," she said, still smiling at him, "I won't get mad at you for something like that. It's actually a compliment as long as you don't get carried away and act on your thoughts."

After taking a moment to understand her, he returned her smile with his own: wide, cheerful, boyish, silly, and warm. Those were the qualities of his smile; it hadn't changed since they were children. Ino had always thought that it suited him quite well.

"You know, when we were younger I always thought you were really annoying," Naruto admitted suddenly, "but you're actually really nice."

This guy…always so straightforward. She could see why Sakura often lost her patience with his shameless honesty, casual style, and natural idiocy. But it was those things that made him the Naruto that was so easy to get along with. Over the years, all of those things which Ino had found annoying about him were the same things that she had grown to appreciate about his personality because he was so genuine and unique.

"I could say the same thing about you, punk," she told him, wringing out her shirt, "Always yelling and screaming and pulling pranks. But I suppose that you were just trying to get people's attention, right? Not having parents and all…"

Ino let her hair loose and dangled it in front of her and ran her fingers through it, letting the water drip down. Her hair fell freely in front of her, hanging about a foot over the ground. Through the strands of her blonde locks she couldn't help but give him a sympathetic look. He returned her light blue gaze with his deep sapphire. For some reason, he looked amazed; entranced almost.

"What is it?" she asked, flinging her hair back over her shoulder.

"Nothing."

"Don't tell me it's nothing when you've got that weird look on your face!" she frowned before doing her best to imitate his face to show him what he looked like.

Naruto laughed at the effort, pointing out how funny she looked.

"I should be the one laughing! Whose face do you think I'm copying?" she pouted, slightly embarrassed.

With her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pursed, she crossed her arms and looked away from him.

"Sorry, sorry," he apologized, "I just didn't realize your hair was that long. You always tie it up so I couldn't tell."

Long hair. Both Ino and Sakura had grown their hair out because they heard that Sasuke preferred girls with long hair. That had been so long ago, before they had even graduated from the Academy and became genin.

"Do you have a thing for girls with long hair?" she asked curiously, innocently twirling a few strands with her finger.

"No. Hair length isn't really all that important."

"But you must have some kind of preference. Everyone does," Ino insisted.

"Not really…" he replied.

Wanting to explore the issue more, she leaned towards him eagerly, resting her elbows on her thighs.

"Ok. Let's say you meet two identical twins. Everything about their appearance is the same except that one of them wears her hair short and the other's is long. Which one would you be more attracted to?"

Naruto's strained face was evidence that he was thinking hard about it. He put his hand to his chin thoughtfully.

"What do they look like?" he asked.

"I don't know, use your imagination. Think about your dream girl or something."

He took her advice and thought for a few more moments. Ino noticed him making a weird face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I can't seem to think of one," he said, "as long as she can make some awesome ramen, it doesn't really matter…"

Ino slapped her forehead and sighed. At the same time, though, she couldn't help but be slightly amused. No matter what was on his mind, there was always room for ramen up in that brain of his.

"Just use someone you know. That should be easier."

He nodded and continued to think. It was hard to keep from noticing that he would glance at her every few seconds, and she figured he had decided to use her as a visual aid. Trying to help him along, she held up her hair as if she had tied it, and then let it fall back down. After taking a ridiculously long time to answer a simple question, Naruto came to a decision.

"I can't decide," he said, "I guess I have no preference after all. I don't think it matters how your hair is, Ino, because you look just fine both ways."

Ino smiled to herself as she sat down again. Sometimes, in the strangest ways, Naruto could actually be quite charming. It happened when you least expected it: he could be talking all kinds of nonsense and then suddenly say something sweet. The moment never lasted, however, since he was completely oblivious to the mood and kept right on talking. The thing about Naruto was that it felt so natural. He wasn't trying to sweet talk anyone or anything like that, and it wasn't like he was trying to be smooth by using some line he spent all night rehearsing. It was unplanned and sporadic; when Naruto said something sweet it was simply him just telling his thoughts right there on the spot.

"Thanks," Ino said to him.

"Huh? For what?"

"Cheering me up a little."

He smiled again; a smile that could brighten someone's day.

"We cheered each other up," he corrected her. "You were all gloomy and stuff. I just missed the cheerful Ino who's always full of spirit!"

"Is that so…" she said, as if to herself, a soft smile curving her cheeks.

"Heh," he sighed, getting to his feet, "Well, I guess there's no point in hanging around here anymore, now that I'm feeling better." He started walking along the water's edge.

"You're right," she agreed.

Following his lead, she stood. But then, she paused to think about how she would spend the rest of her day. She had expected to sulk around here all day. Talking to this guy had proven surprisingly helpful, and she had a nice, pleasant conversation with him. Thanks to Naruto, she had recovered a lot sooner than she thought she would. Ino suddenly found herself with a whole afternoon to waste.

"Are you hungry?" he asked her suddenly, calling back to her.

"A little. I didn't eat breakfast; I'm kind of on a diet."

"Diet? Why are you on a diet?" he asked her as if it was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.

She gave him the same response she always gave Shikamaru. "A girl needs to look good for the guy that she likes."

Naruto put on a puzzled look.

"If anyone needs a diet, it's Chouji. You definitely don't need one."

"Yeah right! The moment I think like that is the moment I start getting chubby!"

She held out her arms to portray a rounded figure.

"Don't worry! Even if you do, I'll still like you! So come on and eat a ton of ramen with me!"

He was already off and marching away, excited by the thought of his favorite food, with a huge grin on his face.

Still at a loss for words, she stared after him. He really was an interesting guy, that Naruto. A nice guy; a good guy.

"Geez!" she called, hurrying to catch up to him, "Don't invite me somewhere then just run off by yourself!"

He turned to wait for her.

"Since you just stood there, I figured you didn't want to."

"I never said anything about not wanting to go, did I?" she said, finally catching up to him and flashing a sharp look.

"Eh? You didn't?"

"I didn't!"

Finally catching up to him, they walked together on the rocks and slowly made their way back into town.

"You eat a lot of ramen, right, Naruto? I've asked Chouji about this, but I'm also interested in your answer. What is your ideal bowl of ramen?" she asked.

"Hmmm…" Naruto pondered, "what did Chouji say?"

"I don't think I can recite it again; there was a lot of stuff in it, but I remember he said lots of barbecue pork and tako."

"Well," said Naruto, "I honestly like all kinds of ramen. Even when it's plain, it's good. But the best tasting ramen are the ones you eat in the company of a good friend."

A good friend, huh? Did he consider her a good friend? Ino had never really talked to him back at the Academy, probably because she had dedicated all of her time to swooning over Sasuke. Naruto was always messing around with her two team mates back then: slacking off with Shikamaru and pigging out with Chouji. Still, they were both ninja in training, and in that regard, they had always considered each other comrades. It was only after the chuunin exams that she actually took the time to talk to him, but between his training and everything else that went on after the exams, they very rarely saw each other. And after that, he left the village for two and a half years. Still, it only took a single talk with him to know what he's all about. She didn't know what it was about him, but it was hard not to be his friend.

Because of his past, he treasured all of his friends more than anything else in the world, and Ino was one of them. At the thought, she felt an exclusive happiness in knowing that she was truly valued by him. In the end, that's all that the security of companionship really was: knowing you have someone that would never betray your trust and would do everything in their power to maintain that sacred bond between two people.

That was Naruto.

"Wanna know why?" Naruto broke her thoughts as he continued, "Because there's a chance that they might treat me! I'm pretty smart, huh?"

As he rambled on, Ino's eyes rolled and her head shook. Typical Naruto. Just when you think he might actually not be that big of an idiot after all, he goes and convinces you otherwise.

But sometimes, she supposed, being an idiot wasn't necessarily such a bad thing…


End file.
